Tuesday, 21 June 2016

Triceratops Dinosaur DNA *review*

When asked if we wanted to review the Triceratops Dinosaur DNA kit i jumped at the chance as i knew Bodhi would LOVE it! i mean come on its Dinosaurs / playing palaeontologists / iPad all rolled into one box !

The first thing i did once we received the kit was to download and test out the free app on my iPad as the last thing i wanted was for this to not work, lucky this is so simple and easy to use. I waited until we had a few hours as a family and i brought the kit out to show Bodhi, His face lit up when i explained that we needed to dig out Dinosaur DNA & bones from the block of "mud" ( i kept out the augmented reality part as i was unsure on how long this digging would take.

Both Chris and Bodhi really enjoyed digging and brushing away the plaster to find the bones and DNA tube ( we did use water to soften the plaster ) this dig time was around an hour and at 4 1/2 Bodhi stayed pretty focused and keen to get stuck in.

We soon found the DNA tube and once that was out the bones soon followed , the kit contains everything you will need for your dig but i would advice ( and so do the instructions ) that you either do the digging outside or put down an old towel or newspaper it got pretty messy ( but that's half the fun right ) the kit is marked at 8+ but i feel this is for solo use Bodhi was fine with the help of both myself and daddy . Once we had all of our bones we gave them a little wash and fitted them all together to make our Triceratops.

The Dinosaur bones glow in the dark and it is now on display in Bodhi's bedroom.

we then moved on to the AR part of the kit and this was something that i knew would blow Bodhi's mind , the kit has two mats one that is for your dinosaur ( you can also get Tyrannosaurus Rex & Stegosaurus kits these can be brought from Amazon RRP £13.99 ) The other mat is a bonus AR mat which features a mysterious scene. All you need to do is to finish the edge of the DNA with your dug up stickers then use the camera on your phone or iPad over the mat and WOW you will have a amazing play / visual experience.

We all took turns standing with the Dinosaur and Bodhi loved being inside the thunder and lighting storm on my bonus mat. This is a great kit and it was a lovely way to spend a sunday afternoon i would defiantly recommend this as a gift idea for any dinosaur fan! The kit is very well put together and the instructions are very clear and simple to use. Bodhi now wants to be a palaeontologist when he grows up and who can blame him ?